(Re)Membering Black Girlhood: My Journey to Working With and for Black Girls

• In Event: Black Women in Defense of Ourselves and Our Work

Abstract

Black girls in the United States grow up in contexts where they are daily exposed to gendered anti-Blackness, which can negatively impact their identity development, mental health, and wellness (Lindsey, 2018; Smith-Purviance, 2021)). Amid these systems of oppression, Black
girls create physical and imaginative spaces wherein their lived experiences are prioritized
(Butler, 2018; Morris, 2019; Toliver, 2022).
Colonialism has taught us that to imagine is futile (a.m. brown, 2015) . Nevertheless, Black people are visionaries with deep imaginations for future possibilities. There is a power in“reclaiming the right to dream the future, strengthening the muscle to imagine together as black people” (a. brown, 2015, p. 6). As such, Black girls require imaginative spaces, or metaphysical configurations, within our radical imaginations that are also lived out loud. Imaginative spaces tap into our capacity to collectively dream of futures where Black people are loved, safe, and valued, where we make space to dream up our desires and envision what is possible (Kelley, 2002) . As Dunn (2020) writes, “Black Imagination is a reclamation of our bodies, space, intelligence, care, and joy. Black imagination is a reclamation of our whole damn selves” (Dunn, 2020, p. 7) . I learned that my Black Imagination was worthy of attention and inquiry in college and graduate school. Community building and storytelling exposed me to spaces unapologetically focused on my Black girlhood/womanhood.
As the daughter of an unapologetically Black woman educator, I learned who and what I
surrounded myself with was central to my upbringing. Looking back, I recognize that several
critical incidents shaped my desire to be a Black girlhood scholar. After navigating many
oppressive spaces and places, I realized that I wanted to be in spaces where I felt affirmed and
listened to. I sought to bolster my imagination by reading and building community with other
Black women and girls. In centering Black girls, I (re)member the little Black girl in me who
was taught of her inherent worth.
In this paper, I posit that Black girls’ lived experiences are shaped by two central forces: (a) the spaces we traverse and resist and (b) the stories we create and consume. As such, the purpose of this chapter is to offer a critical reflection on the spaces and stories that inspired my decision to unapologetically center Black girls’ ways of knowing and wellness in my personal and professional commitments as a Black girlhood scholar. This paper draws on Morrison’s (2019) conceptions of memory, the legacies of Black girlhood scholars (Brown, 2013; Cox, 2015), and Black imagination scholars (brown, 2015, 2017; Dunn, 2020; Kelley, 2002) as tools to reflect on my journey contribute to building a world where Black girls are free, safe, and loved.

Author

• Misha N. Inniss-Thompson, Cornell University
  Presenting Author